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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · jam · net · tear · cap · bat · rule · bay

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cap — of ice
  3. face — to confront
  4. rule — a law
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. rule — government
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. net — in sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. net — for catching
  22. tear — from crying
  23. net — after costs
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com